Free Paper Dolls!

I just came across a post on the Freebies For Mom blog about Patty Reed paperdolls and thought I would share with you. Patty Reed designed fabric for Simplicity and she would design paperdolls to go with the fabric that was given to customers. Sadly, this practice has stopped because of production costs, but the good news is they are being offered free for download! These are new paperdolls done in the style of the beautiful, classic paperdolls. I hope your little girl (or you) will love them!

Free Art and Music Appreciation Lesson Plan!

Harmony Art Mom has put together a six-week Art & Music Appreciation lesson plan for summer use, focusing on the music of Felix Mendelssohn and the paintings of Monet. She has the download link available on her site at:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=BNm9p&m=1cX8AARDKQYxun&b=Erfa3XMTEOkK6fu6YV7A4A

Please check out her blogs if you haven't before. It's a wonderful resource for mother educators following Charlotte Mason or anyone interested in leading their children in artist, composer and nature studies. You won't be disappointed.

Handicrafts for Boys

My husband recently became interested in making his own lanyards. His first two are in the picture above. He really enjoys working with his hands and loves a challenge. After seeing them I realized this would be a great handicraft for boys which is something Mother Educator's following the Charlotte Mason method are always looking for.

Lanyards not only are practical in that they help you to hold onto and keep from dropping things but they also provide emergency supplies. An inch of knotted lanyard can take up to 12 inches of cord to make. If you find yourself in an emergency situation needing cord you simply unravel your lanyard and have a supply of strong cord. And boys seem to love the idea of being in an emergency situation. And there are many different styles of knots to learn which means this is a craft that can be practiced for quite awhile.

My husband learned techniques for making lanyards from youtube videos. Simply entering the phrase, "paracord lanyard" in the youtube search yields many tutorials. My favorite of the videos my husband showed me is this one which is taught by a young boy. I can't recommend all his videos as I have only watched this one so as with all youtube videos...check it out before showing your child!

There are some really good books on knot tying that a child who wants to pursue this craft may want to look at. I recently found an exhaustive resource at a library book sale, "Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Rope Work." I just enjoy looking at this book! You can find some other resources here. There is also a fantastic site called Animated Knots by Greg that is so helpful. A pdf booklet on knot tying is also available at the Scoutmaster blog.